The Show Must Go On
by Splash of Blue
Summary: When Voldemort's returned and you're trusting people you haven't spoken to in thirteen years, you know your life's really screwed up.When you're so battle-weary you're nicknamed the Children of the Battle, then that's when you should get really worried...


_The war children have grown up… their group is sundered, but the memories remain. Now the children of the battle must re-forge the links of the past to stand any chance of saving the future…_

Alright guys and girls, what we have here is a renamed, re-write of my fic The Marauders Return. And when I say re-write, I mean the complete and utter, bare-bones-only-kept, sort of rehash. I'm leaving the original chapters up, since I've met plenty of writers who've bugged me by removing fics I've loved in the name of a re-write, or because they couldn't finish them, and I was like, 'who the hell cares if it won't be finished? I love that!' Reason for said re-write can be neatly encapsulated in three little words: Too. Much. Shit. Ignore the previous versions: although character's names and personalities are the same (apart from Minerva who's become Meg, the Professor's niece), many of their histories will be different.

This baby's pretty much an AU, since Sirius is still kicking, and it's about Harry's fifth year, as it was conceived (and the original was written) pre-OotP. Unfortunately this does mean I can't feature the lovely Tonks, but if enough people want me to, I might well go the whole hog and give her a cameo.

**DISCLAIMER:** Original characters and the plot are mine, as are any song lyrics you may see that aren't specifically disclaimed as someone else's property. The rest is the creation of J.K. Rowling and as such belongs to her. ::sobs:: There, you blood-sucking legal fiends, you made me admit it. Happy now?

What I would do if Sirius and Remus _were_ mine is another matter entirely…

_My name is Arabella Mary Figg, once known to my closest friends as Starry._

_I have been a Marauder, Ravenclaw, teacher, healer, and celebrity, but I have always been a Muggleborn._

_I was friend to Lily Evans, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew._

_For four years, I was a musician; for one year an Auror; and for two years I taught Quidditch at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _

_For one night, I was lover to James Potter._

_Ten minutes ago, Death Eaters attacked the Muggle school where I teach Games and Technology._

_As to their motives, I cannot be certain. I do not even know if they realised the presence here of a witch, but one thing I do know: if they do not, they will shortly find out._

_My name is Arabella Figg. I am a Muggleborn, but not a muggle. Not by any means._

_As James Potter would have said, may the mayhem begin…_

OK, what the hell just happened here?

One minute I was settling into the boredom of yet another day as a muggle Comprehensive school teacher, taking the first lot of little Year Seven prats out for Games; the next: wham, bam, cablooie! If I didn't know better, I'd have said it was a Death Eater attack. But it can't be. I know I haven't had much to do with the wizarding world for years, but I think _someone_ would have bothered to warn me had Voldemort returned, in a sort of 'Yeah, just a thought, that dead evil guy's not so dead after all' sort of way.

Ah. There appear to be guys in black cloaks coming my way. Don't seem to have noticed me though. Is that one of my Catering students lying prone on the floor? And what's that in the sky above her? Oh, fuck it. They _are_ Death Eaters. Either that or my eyesight's even worse than my hair. Apparently someone didn't notice the return of the baddest bad-guy ever, yadda yadda yadda. Either that or the cats have been stealing paper from my Memo tray again. Damn magical cats, far too smart for their own good. Hmm. I appear to have a wand in my hand. Where the hell did that come from? Oh yes, Arabella, you removed it from your back pocket where it is always kept out of long habit. All I know is, I've got a wand in one hand and a hockey stick in the other. Let's see now: who shall I kill first? And with what? The Death Eater with his back to me would appear to be a suitable candidate, with the hockey-stick, methinks… Oooh. He'll remember that when he wakes up.

Now Arabella, forget the fact that you appear to be committing suicide here by taking on at least a dozen bad-guys at once, forget that you're badly out of duelling practice and that you weren't particularly good at your best, and especially forget that you're so terrified your stomach appears to be leaping up your gullet on its way to Outer Mongolia. Take three steps forward, raise your wand, and open your mouth.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?"

OK, so it's not the incredible bad-guy busting curse I was looking for. But hey, it's a start.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?"

As the Death Eaters looked towards the frizzy-haired woman's shriek, many fired curses automatically; there was a pop, and a huge, wiry-haired wildcat darted out of the way, teeth bared and fur on end with fury. Arabella sped onwards, yanking the nearest standing child out of range with her teeth and raking an unconscious girl with her claws to bring her to, whereupon a quaking young student teacher pulled the girl to her, out of sight. Arabella's mind worked furiously, despite her current form, as she charged down a corridor that seemed to be lined with the fewest muggles, but even she couldn't find a plan that involved her winning this battle.

"Oh, hell!" It was a dead end. She couldn't Apparate away, not if she wanted any school left, and in any case she hadn't Apparated for years: she didn't even know if she could. "Well, you've survived a war," she told herself. "You might as well face them, and see if there's any of that old Marauder luck left in you.

"Well, if I'm to face 'em, I'll do it on my own terms…" There was a crack, and a plump, fair-haired young woman took the place of the wildcat, her wand held ready in a hand that shook, the other curled tightly into a fist.

"_Stupefy_!" Her curse had no effect on the first, but a solid boot to the groin did. Arabella whirled, and slammed her free hand, palm upwards, into another's jaw; there was a sickening snap and he fell. _Never say that watching a whole night of Buffy re-runs on Sky One wasn't useful… _"_Stupefy_! _Stupefy_! _Impedimenta_!" she tried again, and this time two Death Eaters fell, but a curse slammed into her and her body froze from the neck upwards, her head spun and throbbed and she was unable to move, and for some reason Queen's _Another One Bites The Dust_ was playing muzzily in her head as though from an ancient, badly-tuned radio…

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" Though she couldn't aim properly, the spell hit its target –just- and another Death Eater hit the floor, but there were still another six to go; she couldn't beat them all and now she couldn't transform either…

Suddenly, the spells stopped; a tall Death Eater Arabella thought might be a woman –something about the way she moved- stepped forwards.

"My Lord simply wants Sirius Black brought to him," she said stiffly. "We have no interest in you, mudblood though you are, and so I am prepared to offer you a bargain. We know that he is in this area, and so if you will hand him over to us, we will give you your life and those of the muggle brats in exchange."

Arabella considered, attempted to play for time, prayed for inspiration. "Let me move again, for a start. Oh come on, there are six of you with your wands pointed at my heart- I'm not going anywhere, am I?"

Eventually the woman nodded to another Death Eater, who muttered the counter-spell; she could move again. Arabella shook out her limbs, feeling the sensation return to them and allowing her to stand firmly. She crossed her arms over her chest and attempted to raise one eyebrow at them, saw the leading Death Eater bite back a snigger as she failed miserably, as usual when she was sober.

"Why do you want him?" she asked finally.

"That is none of your concern." Out of the corner of her eye Arabella saw a few of the braver, still-conscious students and staff attempting to drag KO-ed people out of sight; one of the Heads, a blocky, capable woman who happened to be a karate black belt, moved to try to help her; Arabella signalled frantically with her eyes to leave well alone, but one of the Death Eaters turned to see what she was looking at; he drew his wand and Arabella leapt for him instinctively.

As she leapt her ankle twisted under and she came crashing down, dragging him with her in an awkward fall that defeated the aim of most of the spells. His head slammed backwards into her skull and she let go, seeing stars but somehow retaining a frail grip on her wand. She struggled to prop herself up on her elbows; both teacher and Death Eater had vanished into a haze of fuzzy jet framing her eyes.

"Oh, fuck," she said weakly before the blackness encroached completely on her vision and she slumped backwards, magic and consciousness spent.

"Ara? Arabella? Bella, please be all right! Please…"

Arabella opened one eye and slowly winced, attempting to identify the voice. "Noisy bastard," she muttered faintly. "Who _are_ you anyway?"

"Sirius Xavier Black, at your service."

"You sodding little…" Arabella was galvanised into action, throwing her head forwards to give Sirius what one of her old friends had always called a 'Glasgow kiss', ignoring her skull which threatened to fall off at the next opportunity. "I'll rip your spineless heart out, you murdering little coward!"

"Easy, Bella, easy," Sirius said, leaping backwards to avoid the headbutt. "I just saved your life!"

Arabella, too, leapt to her feet, her face white with fury as she pointed her wand at his heart. "I don't give a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut, Padfoot, you betrayed Lily and James and you killed Peter personally!"

Sirius held up his hands placatingly so she could see he was wandless. "Ara, you don't really believe that, do you? I would never have betrayed James and Lily, never! Though I don't deny that I tried to kill Peter-"

"Tried and succeeded!" she snapped furiously. "All they found of him was his finger, Sirius, did you know that? That was all his mother had of him to bury!"

"But he's not dead," Sirius said quietly. "He betrayed Lily and James, then cut off his finger and transformed when I went after him- after blowing the street apart with his wand behind his back."

"Liar!" Arabella gasped. "How could he? The whole world knows you were the Secret Keeper!"

Sirius shook his head. "I was afraid- I had too much that could be used against me: my Dad, Diana, Monique, the baby... And to tell the truth, I- I was- I was scared for me, as much as for them." Sirius hung his head. "So I persuaded James to use Peter, who only had his mother- I thought it was the perfect double bluff, no-one would ever dream we'd use such a little mouse, I thought we were the only ones who'd ever seen his talents…"

"But the mouse became a rat," completed Arabella thoughtfully, massaging her throbbing skull; after everything else today, this was just too much. And it was only Monday... "Or so you claim. Hmmm…"

"'Hmmm'? What does _that_ mean?" demanded Sirius.

"It means," said Arabella firmly, "That you are going to transform, that I am going to acquire a collar and lead for you, and that we are going straight back to my house, from where we will take Floo powder direct to Albus Dumbledore's office in Hogwarts. We'll see what _he_ says about this."

Sirius actually chuckled. "A collar and lead? Arabella, I never knew you were such a kinky little beast!"

Arabella's wand did not move from his heart. "Don't push it. I still don't trust you. And Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"Do anything even slightly suspicious, and I'll kill you."


End file.
